KUWAIT: The Ministry of Interior has made significant strides in capturing lawbreakers. Ten expats of various nationalities were arrested on charges of promoting prostitution in the Mahboula region. They were found in possession of suspected intoxicating substances, and legal action is being taken against them by the appropriate authorities.

KUWAIT: The administration has released a statement in response to a video clip circulating on social media depicting the arrest of an individual promoting narcotics in the Khaitan region. The administration clarifies that upon receiving notification of the incident, security personnel immediately responded to the scene, apprehended the individual, and seized suspected narcotic substances in his possession. The individual and seized items have been handed over to the competent authorities for legal action.

The Ministry of the Interior expresses gratitude to the citizen who reported the incident, emphasizing the importance of every citizen’s role in ensuring safety and security. The administration encourages citizens and residents to cooperate with security personnel and report any criminal activity or misconduct by calling the emergency phone number (112).

KUWAIT: The delay caused by the Public Authority for Civil Information in issuing Civil IDs to expatriates has only increased the sufferings of the expatriate community (those who have renewed their residence permits), reports Al- Jarida daily. Each time a resident checks the status of Civil ID on the PACI website the screen fl ashes the familiar message the ‘Civil ID card is still being processed’.

The daily added, PACI continues to delay without any reason to the extent the expatriates face problems everywhere and do not even know when they will get their IDs as if we live in an unseen world, not the world of technological development and digital transformation and artificial intelligence, although neighboring countries complete their identities in a few minutes, without the person visiting the government agencies.

After canceling the “residence” sticker on the passport, non- Kuwaitis are exposed to a long journey in which they suffer from two things and problems inside and outside Kuwait when traveling, and despite the justification of PACI that the delay is due to the Corona pandemic in 2020, after 3 years the situation is still the same and to make matters worse no one knows who can be contacted. This is in spite of the Authority announced on Aug 10, 2020 its apology to citizens and residents for the delay in issuing and distributing cards, due to the Authority’s disruption for 4 months following the impact of the Corona pandemic.

Resuming
It announced that the delivery rate reached – after resuming work – more than 10 thousand cards per day, which means It receives 1.3 million cards per month, and 15 million annually, which is more than 3 times more than the population of Kuwait, while some visitors wait more than a year and do not receive their cards.

The authority confirmed that it receives 1.3 million cards per month but the reality of the situation is contrary to that. With great dissatisfaction, Al-Jarida opened the file of the delay in issuing the card, as it toured the Public Authority for Civil Information, to find out the reasons for the delay of the cards and asked some of the visitors about the status of their civil cards where they expressed their strong dissatisfaction with the current conditions and poor service at the PACI.

Expatriates pointed out that they rely heavily on the digital card (My ID) in completing personal transactions, but there are parties that require verification through the original card, which put them in the circle of returning some transactions until the new card is issued. They added that in parallel with the presence of 3 million people using my “identity”, there are parties, inside and outside Kuwait, that do not count. One of them indicated that the long wait for the new civil card has entered its tenth month, and the application is still under process stressing that the repeated review is to amend some information.

KUWAIT: The General Administration of Customs said passengers coming from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are barred from bringing into the country any foodstuffs of unknown origin or home-made products, reports Al-Anba daily. Acting Director General of the General Administration of Customs, Sami Muhammad Al-Kandari, has issued customs instructions listing preventive measures to prevent passengers from bringing in foodstuffs from some neighboring countries.

The instructions came based on the recommendations of the Common Diseases Committee between Humans and Animals, which recommended banning personal foodstuffs from countries where some diseases have been monitored and recommended the following – continuing to prevent the entry of any foodstuffs of unknown origin or home-made products accompanied by those coming to the country and food products are allowed to enter provided they are packaged by the food producing establishments.

Meanwhile , the Minister of Electricity and Water and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Mutlaq Abu Raqba has approved the partial list of employees eligible for the excellent job performance bonus, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources. Sources explained “the approval of the bonus payment for the rest of the employees will be completed within a month — after confirming that they fulfilled all the conditions.” Sources added the ministry will send messages to the employees included in the approved list, while affirming that Raqba is keen on disbursing the bonus to all deserving employees as soon as possible.

KUWAIT: The Department of Migrant Workers in the Philippines has confirmed that they have not received any official notification from Kuwait regarding the suspension of visas for Filipino workers. However, reliable sources have informed that a meeting of the Kuwaiti-Filipino joint committee on the issue of domestic workers is scheduled to take place in Kuwait from May 16 to May 18.

The meeting will last for three days and will focus on a variety of issues, including finding a solution to the problem of domestic workers in accordance with the bilateral agreements between the two countries, reports Al Rai. Toby Nebreda, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Migrant Labor in the Philippines, provided this information.

Sources have stated that the directive to halt the issuance of visas to Filipino workers includes both new and previously issued entry visas. Only those with valid residence permits are allowed entry into Kuwait, even if they possess a previous visa.

Filipino workers who reside in Kuwait are able to renew their residence in the usual manner, following the appropriate procedures. It is worth noting that the suspension of visas for Filipino workers was issued by Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled, the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and Acting Minister of Defense, who supervises the Public Authority for Manpower. This was done in response to Manila’s failure to comply with the bilateral agreement signed with Kuwait regarding employment.

KUWAIT: The land, air and sea borders in the country on Wednesday started using the central biometric system to verify the face prints, fingerprints and electronic signatures of all departing and arriving travelers – Kuwaiti, Gulf and other nationalities, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources confirmed that the General Department of Information Systems, in cooperation with the General Department of Criminal Evidence and Borders Security Sector, installed the biometric devices last week with the aim of creating the largest database for travelers. Sources disclosed the system is connected with the borders of all Arab and Gulf countries to ease coordination and follow up in terms of security. Sources said this will prevent those wanted by law from forging documents, as their data will be revealed immediately through the system.